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Azerbaijan fails to lead OSCE mission to its frontline positions

Azerbaijan fails to lead OSCE mission to its frontline positions

16 May 2012

On May 16, in accordance with the agreement with the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission held scheduled monitoring of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces' contact-line near the village of Kuropatkino, Martouni region, the NKR Foreign Ministry reports.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring group comprised Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Hristo Hristov (Bulgary) and Irjie Aberle (Czech Republic), as well as representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) Major Vitaly Belokon (Russia).

Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzey Kasprzyk (Poland) led the monitoring on the opposite side. The monitoring group included Field Assistant of the OSCE PRCiO Antal Herdich (Hungary) and William Prior (Great Britain), as well as the HLPG representative Colonel Andrey Barashkin (Russia).

No breach of the cease-fire regime was registered during the monitoring. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its frontline. If fact, the parties monitored from farther distance. From the Karabakh side, representatives of the NKR Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense accompanied the monitoring mission.

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